Disc apparatus

ABSTRACT

In the course of the loading of a disc in a slot-in type of disc apparatus, if a user intends to forcefully pull out the disc, there is a possibility that it is wrongly recognized that the disc has been normally loaded, and then a clamping head of a spindle motor collides against a surface of the disc to damage it. In order to solve this problem, during the loading operation of the disc, a safety mechanism for allowing a clamping operation in response to what the disc has reached a normally clamped position. The safety mechanism may be a mechanical stopper or an electrical detector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a disc apparatus which drives anoptical disc (for example, CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+R/RW, etc.)as a recording medium which records a large amount of information ininformation equipment, such as various computer systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a conventional disc apparatus built in a personal computer(hereinafter, often referred to as “PC”) or the like has a disc tray forloading a disc. The disc tray is configured to advance or retreat. Also,a disc loaded into the disc tray is driven in a main body of the discapparatus yto perform recording or reproducing of information.

On the other hand, as a type that does not utilize a disc tray, aso-called slot-in type of disc apparatus also shows a tendency to befrequently employed. This type of disc apparatus is suitable to make aPC slim and small. Since this type of disc apparatus does not utilize adisc tray in loading or unloading a disc into or from a main body of theapparatus, when an operator inserts the larger half of the disc into themain body, a loading mechanism of the apparatus main body is thenadapted to operate to automatically load the disc (for example, JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-117604).

Hereinafter, the related arts will now be explained referring to adrawing.

FIG. 60 is a top plan view schematically showing a disc apparatus 101according to the related arts.

When a user pushes a disc D from a bezel 103 with his/her hand, thecircumferential edge of the disc D comes into contact with a holder 118at the tip of a disc support arm 117. Then, the disc support arm 117 ispushed from a position M1 to a position M2.

After a while, when a leading arm 150 rotates about a follower pin 157,the disc D arrives at a position enough to be received into the discapparatus 101 by a force exerted by a roller 160 at the tip of theleading arm 150 being brought into contact with the circumferential edgeof the disc D. The position at which the disc D arrives is the positionM2 that is a drive starting position of the loading mechanism.

When the disc support arm 117 reaches the position M2, a limit switch(not shown) which interlocks with the disc support arm 117 is turned on.

The limit switch is connected to a microcomputer (not shown), and themicrocomputer receives a turn-on signal from the limit switch to controldriving of a loading motor (not shown). The loading motor (not shown)drives a rack main body 143 toward the inside of the disc apparatus 101,so that the rack main body 143 is driven in a direction of pulling theleading arm 150.

The follower pin 157 is moved toward the inside of the disc apparatus101 along a guide groove 143 e, so that it rotates about the pivot pin158 from a position Q1 toward a position Q2.

After a while, the roller 160 at the tip of the leading arm 150 comesinto contact with the circumferential edge of the disc D at the positionQ2.

When the leading arm 150 further rotates, the disc D continues to movetoward the inside of the disc apparatus 101, and the center of the discD arrives at a turntable 110, a spindle motor (not shown) ascends in adirection vertical to a recording surface of the disc D.

As a result, the disc D is clamped by means of a clamping head 107 whichis anchored to the turntable 110.

When the clamping operation is completed, a rear end of the rack mainbody 143 arrives at a position L2, and the rear end of the rack mainbody 143 pushes a loading completion detecting switch 180.

The loading completion detecting switch 180 is connected to amicrocomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer receives a push signalfrom the loading completion detecting switch 180 to stop driving aloading motor (not shown).

The ejection of a disc is realized by allowing a loading motor (notshown) to rotate in a direction reverse to the rotational direction ofthe loading motor at the time of the loading operation.

First, the rack main body 143 is driven toward the bezel 103, therebyreleasing a clamping state between the disc D and the clamping head 107.

Next, the disc support arm 117 linked to the rack main body 143 pushesout the disc D.

Finally, when the disc support arm 117 reaches at the position M1, therear end of the rack main body 143 arrives at a position L1 and the rearend of the rack main body 143 releases the pressing of the ejectioncompletion detecting switch 181.

The ejection completion detecting switch 181 is connected to amicrocomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer receives a releasingsignal from the ejection completion detecting switch 181 to stop drivingthe loading motor (not shown).

In other words, the loading completion detecting switch 180 is a sensorfor detecting the completion of a loading operation, and the ejectioncompletion detecting switch 181 is a sensor for detecting the completionof an ejecting operation.

A lever arm 144 is provided with a locking mechanism for safety. Whenthe locking mechanism is pulled and unlocked by a force beyond aprescribed level, the length of the lever arm 144 increases.

When the disc is pulled out during the loading operation, a greatpulling force is applied to the leading arm 150 via the circumferentialedge of the disc D. Accordingly, the locking mechanism for safety whichis provided in the lever arm 144 is unlocked, and the length of thelever arm 144 increases. Then, the leading arm 150 does not obstruct theoperation of pulling out the disc D.

In the disc apparatus as described above, there is a possibility that. aproblem occurs when a user pulls out a disc during its loadingoperation. The problem will now be described in detail.

The loading mechanism of the above-mentioned disc apparatus 101 has nomeans which detects that a user pulls out a disc during its loadingoperation.

Therefore, when a disc is pulled out during loading operation thereof,the lever arm 144 is unlocked, but the loading operation may continue.

Then, since a spindle motor may ascend before the disc reaches itsclamping position, there is a possibility that the disc D may besandwiched between the clamping head 107 and a top cover (not shown), ofthe disc apparatus 101.

In other words, when a disc is pulled out during loading operationthereof, there is a possibility that a recording surface of the disc maybe damaged by the clamping head 107.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of suchconventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention toprovide a disc apparatus having a loading function which can safelyhandle a disc even in an operation of pulling out the disc.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve the aboveproblems using each means which will be described later. Specifically,in a first aspect of the present invention, a disc apparatus comprises:a loading mechanism for performing a pulling operation for pulling adisc to a clamping position where a clamping operation for placing thedisc on a turntable is performed after the pulling operation; and anactuating means driven by an outer circumferential portion of the discpulled to the clamping position; and a prohibiting means for prohibitingthe clamping operation when the disc is not located at the clampingposition, and for permitting the clamping operation in response to theactivating means being driven when the disc is located at the clampingposition.

In a second aspect of the present invention, the actuating means isprovided at a position inside the center of the disc when the disc islocated at the clamping position toward the direction of the pullingoperation by the loading mechanism.

In a third aspect of the present invention, the prohibiting means is astopper, and the actuating means is a disc abutment member provided inthe stopper, and the stopper releases the loading mechanism fromprohibiting the clamping operation in response to the disc abutmentmember being driven while abutting on the outer circumferential portionof the disc.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, at the time of the clampingoperation after the pulling operation, the disc abutment member has adisc positioning function to position the disc.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, the actuating means is adisc outer circumferential portion detector; the prohibiting means hasthe disc outer circumferential portion detector, and a pullingcompletion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism fordetecting a completion of the pulling operation by the loadingmechanism, and the clamping operation of the loading mechanism ispermitted when the pulling completion detecting means detects acompletion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism, and thedisc outer circumferential portion detector detects the outercircumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the disc outercircumferential portion detector is a reflective photo-interrupter, andan antireflection film for preventing erroneous detection when the discis not located at the clamping position is provided at a position of arear face of a case for the disc apparatus that faces the reflectivephoto-interrupter.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the disc apparatus furthercomprises a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to ejectthe disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position aftera lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pullingoperation by the loading mechanism.

In an eighth aspect of the present invention, the disc apparatus furthercomprises a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loadingmechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by theloading mechanism, and the control means controls the loading mechanismto eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is notdetected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse ofpredetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by theloading mechanism.

In a ninth aspect of the present invention, the disc apparatus furthercomprises a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to ejectthe disc when the disc outer circumferential portion detector is notable to detect the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled tothe clamping position when the pulling completion detecting meansdetects that the completion of the pulling operation by the loadingmechanism.

According to the disc apparatus in the first to ninth aspects of thepresent invention, even when a user pulls out a disc in the course ofthe loading operation of the disc, an improper clamping operation isprohibited. Thus, a recording surface of the disc can be prevented frombeing damaged.

Further, an error detecting mechanism using a timer is provided for theloading operation, and if the loading operation is not completed withinpredetermined time, the clamping operation is prohibited and the disc isejected. Thus, as compared to the conventional disc apparatuses, it ispossible to reduce a possibility that the disc apparatus and the discare damaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a disc apparatusrelated to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal structure of the discapparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the discapparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a figure showing the internal structure of the disc apparatusin FIG. 1 at the bottom thereof;

FIG. 5 is a figure for explaining an operation state of the discapparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a figure for explaining a clamping operation;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a construction of a discsupport arm;

FIG. 8 is a figure for explaining a loaded state of a disc;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a construction ofa driving mechanism C;

FIG. 10 is a figure for explaining a loading gear unit;

FIG. 11 is a figure for explaining an operation state of the loadinggear unit;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a construction of rack gear unit;

FIG. 13 is a figure showing a first step of the operation of anelevating mechanism;

FIG. 14 is a figure showing a second step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a figure showing a third step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 16 is a figure showing a fourth step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 17 is a figure showing a fifth step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 18 is a figure showing a sixth step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 19 is a figure showing a seventh step of the operation of theelevating mechanism;

FIG. 20 is a figure showing an advancing procedure in an elevatingoperation of a clamping head;

FIG. 21 is a figure showing a retreating procedure in an elevatingoperation of a clamping head;

FIG. 22 is a figure showing a first step of an operation state of a discsupport arm;

FIG. 23 is a figure showing a second step of the operation state of thedisc support arm;

FIG. 24 is a figure showing a third step of the operation state of thedisc support arm;

FIG. 25 is a figure showing a fourth step of the operation state of thedisc support arm;

FIG. 26 is a figure showing a fifth step of the operation state of thedisc support arm;

FIG. 27 is a figure showing a sixth step of the operation state of thedisc support arm;

FIG. 28 is a figure showing the operation state at the time of unloadingof the disc support arm;

FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing a construction of anoperating mechanism of a leading arm;

FIG. 30 is an exploded perspective view of a lever arm;

FIG. 31 is an assembled perspective view of the lever arm;

FIG. 32 is a figure showing a first step of an operation of the leadingarm;

FIG. 33 is a figure showing a second step of the operation of theleading arm;

FIG. 34 is a figure showing a third step of the operation of the leadingarm;

FIG. 35 is a figure showing a fourth step of the operation of theleading arm;

FIG. 36 is a figure showing a fifth step of the operation of the leadingarm;

FIG. 37 is a plan view for explaining an operation state of the leverarm;

FIG. 38 is a sectional view for explaining the operation state of thelever arm;

FIG. 39 is a figure showing a first step of the positional relationshipbetween a rack main body and a stopper in a normal operation;

FIG. 40 is a figure showing a second step of the positional relationshipbetween the rack main body and the stopper in the normal operation;

FIG. 41 is a figure showing a third step of the positional relationshipbetween the rack main body and the stopper in the normal operation;

FIG. 42 is a figure showing a first step of the positional relationshipbetween the rack main body and the stopper in an abnormal operation;

FIG. 43 is a figure showing a second step of the positional relationshipbetween the rack main body and the stopper in an abnormal operation;

FIG. 44 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 4, showing the positionalrelationship between the rack main body and an ejection completiondetecting switch or a loading completion detecting switch;

FIG. 45 is a plan view showing the positional relationship of anoutermost circumferential position detecting switch, with a base panelas a main portion extracted;

FIG. 46 is a figure for explaining a disc support arm and an angularposition detecting switch;

FIG. 47 is a figure showing the positional relationship of the disc anda state of the angular position detecting switch;

FIG. 48 is a figure showing a first step of the positional relationshipbetween the angular position detecting switch and a cam;

FIG. 49 is a figure showing a second step of the positional relationshipbetween the angular position detecting switch and the cam;

FIG. 50 is a figure showing a third step of the positional relationshipbetween the angular position detecting switch and the cam;

FIG. 51 is a figure showing a fourth step of the positional relationshipbetween the angular position detecting switch and the cam;

FIG. 52 is a figure for explaining a control unit of the disc apparatus;

FIG. 53 is a time chart showing a change in logic of the respectivedetecting switches in the disc loading operation;

FIG. 54 is a flowchart for explaining the disc loading operation;

FIG. 55 is a flowchart for explaining the disc ejecting operation;

FIG. 56 is a flowchart for explaining setting of flags that determinesthe disc loading operation;

FIG. 57 is a plan view of a disc apparatus related to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 58 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 4 showing the positionalrelationship between an ejection completion detecting switch, a loadingcompletion detecting switch and a clamping position detecting switch ofthe rack main body in the disc apparatus in FIG. 57;

FIG. 59 is a time chart showing changes in logics of the respectivedetecting switches and sensors in the disc loading operation; and

FIG. 60 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a conventionaldisc apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention can be summarized as follows: a means for directlydetecting from a disc itself that the disc has reached its clampingposition in a disc apparatus by a pulling operation of a loadingmechanism is provided inside the disc apparatus, so that a clampingoperation is allowed in response to signals from the detecting means.

The detecting means may be a mechanical stopper for a loading mechanism,or an electrical sensor connected to a microcomputer serving as acontrol means.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a slot-in type of disc apparatus 1related to a first embodiment of the present invention. An opening 2 ais formed at the center of a top plate of a chassis case 2 constructedas its shielded state, and a protrusion 2 b is formed at acircumferential portion of the opening 2 a so as to protrude inwardly. Abezel 3 is fixed to a front edge of the chassis case 2, and the bezel 3is formed with a slot 3 a into which a disc D is inserted andthrough-holes 3 b and 3 c for emergency release. The bezel 3 is providedwith an ejection switch 4 for instructing the received disc D to beunloaded to the outside of the apparatus, and an indicator fordisplaying an operating state of the disc apparatus 1.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the disc apparatus 1 in a state in whichthe top plate of the chassis case 2 of the disc apparatus 1 is removed,and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2. In these figures, a basepanel 6 is disposed within the chassis case 2, and a drive system unit Afor the disc D is provided in a state of being arranged to be inclineddownward from the center of the base panel 6. In the drive system unitA, in order to clamp a central hole Da of the disc D or to release aclamped state of the disc D, a frame member 8 adapted to be movable upand down is connected to the base panel 6 at a plurality of points(three points in this embodiment) by means of shock-absorbing supportstructures 9 a and 9 b (see a removed figure in FIG. 4)

The disc apparatus 1 includes an operation that carries the disc Dinserted into the slot 3 a to its clamping position, and an operationthat clamps the disc D after it has been carried. Hereinafter, theoperation that carries the disc D to its clamping position is referredto as a “pulling operation”, and the operation that clamps the disc D isreferred to as a “clamping operation”. The loading operation of the discapparatus 1 consists of the pulling operation and the clampingoperation.

Two shock-absorbing support structures 9 a provided in the vicinity ofthe bezel 3 are provided on spacers 84. This structure allows theshock-absorbing support structures 9 a to serves as rotating shafts ofthe frame member 8 without vertical movement of portions of the framemember 8 supported by the shock-absorbing support structures 9 a.

One shock-absorbing support structure 9 b provided at a point remotestfrom the bezel 3 supports the frame member 8 so as to be movable up anddown.

With the movement of a rack main body 43 and a slide member 51, whichwill be described later, the frame member 8 moves up and down about thetwo shock-absorbing support structures 9 a as a rotating fulcrumobliquely with respect to a recording surface of the disc D at the timeof a clamping operation and a clamping releasing operation, which willbe described later.

An edge of the base panel 6 is provided with an opening 73. A stopper 72is provided on the base panel 6 through the opening 73. The stopper 72is provided for limiting the movement of the rack main body 43 whichwill be described later. When the stopper 72 is slightly pushed by thecircumferential edge of the disc D at a point of time when disc Dreaches its clamping position, a state in which the movement of the rackmain body 43 is limited is released. The operation of the stopper 72will now be described below in detail.

A clamping head 7 is disposed at a front edge of the frame member 8 at aposition corresponding to the center of the disc D loaded and stopped.The clamping head 7 is integrally formed with a turntable 10 and fixedto a driving shaft of a spindle motor 11 disposed right under theclamping head 7. The spindle motor 11 drives the disc D clamped by theclamping head 7 to rotate, thereby performing recording or reproducingof information.

Next, a symbol B indicates a head unit which is supported by the framemember 8. A carrier block 13 for reciprocating an optical pickup 12 inthe radial direction of the disc D, is supported by guide shafts 14 and15 whose both ends are fixed to the frame member 8, and is reciprocatedby a thread motor 16 and a gear unit (not shown).

Meanwhile, the disc apparatus 1 according to the present invention is anapparatus that carries out recording or reproducing of a DVD-R disc andrecording or reproducing of a CD-R/RW disc. Since the optical pickup 12is being made large, the carrier block 13 has a larger thickness thanthe spindle motor 11. Therefore, when the frame member 8 releases theclamping between disc D and the spindle motor 11, it is necessary thatthe carrier block 13 is located at a position remotest from the spindlemotor 11 so as not to obstruct the descent of the spindle motor 11.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a clamping operation by means of the drivesystem unit A of the disc apparatus 1 according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A shows a state in which the disc D is normally clamped by theclamping head 7. A bottom portion of the carrier block 13 is located ata lower position than a bottom portion of the spindle motor 11.

FIG. 6B shows a state in which the disc D is removed from the clampinghead 7. In this state, the frame member 8 rotates about theshock-absorbing support structures 9 a in the clockwise direction. Ifthe carrier block 13 is located at a position near to the spindle motor11, as compared to a state in which the carrier block 13 is located at aposition remotest from the spindle motor 11, a bottom face of thecarrier block 13 may come into contact with a bottom face of the discapparatus 1 before a bottom face of the spindle motor 11 comes intocontact therewith, which keeps the spindle motor 11 from descending by adistance D. Thus, the spindle motor 11 may not descend by a distanceenough to release the disc D from the clamping head 7. As a result, theclaming releasing operation may not be realized by the existence of thecarrier block 13.

As described above, at the time of the clamping operation and theclamping releasing operation of the disc apparatus 1, it is necessary tomove the carrier block 13 to a position remotest from the spindle motor11, i.e., to a position nearest to the shock-absorbing supportstructures 9 a.

The reference numeral 17 indicates a disc support arm which performs anoperation to guide the disc D into the inside of apparatus and to pushout the disc D to the outside of the apparatus. A holder 18 forsupporting an end of the disc D is fixed to a tip of the disc supportarm 17. As shown in FIG. 7, a tip of the holder 18 is formed with anend-receiving portion 18 a, and a side thereof is formed with aretaining groove 18 b.

Next, a driving mechanism C for rocking the disc support arm 17 will nowbe described. As shown in FIG. 4, an end serving as a rocking fulcrum ofthe disc support arm 17 is integrated with a support plate 19 on a rearface of the base panel 6. Since the support plate 19 is adapted to becapable of turning by means of a pivot pin 20, as the support plate 19turns, the disc support arm 17 on the base panel 6 rocks within a rangeof the length of the slit 6 a.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a construction of the driving mechanism Cof the disc support arm 17 with the base panel 6 removed. A first linkarm 21 that directly drives the disc support arm 17 is connected to thesupport plate 19 by means of the pivot pint 17 b, and is always biasedby a tension coil spring 22. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, asecond link arm 23 is formed with slits 23 a and 23 b. +ead pins 24 arerespectively inserted through these slits 23 a and 23 b. Tips of thehead pins 24 are respectively fixed into through-holes 21 a and 21 b ofthe first link arm 21. The first link arm 21 and the second link arm 23are integrated with each other so as to be extendable or retractablewithin a range of the lengths of the slits 23 a and 23 b. Meanwhile, thefirst link arm 21 and the second link arm 23 are respectively formedwith cutouts 21 c and 23 c to be acted by a locking mechanism, whichwill be described later.

The reference numeral 25 indicates a lever arm that transmits a drivingforce to the second link arm 23. The lever arm 25 is adapted to becapable of rocking while a through-hole 25 a serving as a fulcrum issupported by a pivot pin 25 d. A pivot pin 25 b is fixed to an actuatingend of the lever arm 25. The pivot pin 25 b is inserted through thethrough-hole 23 d of the second lever arm 23 and a through-hole 26 a ofa locking lever 26. Also, a torsion coil spring 27 is disposed betweenthe second link arm 23 and the locking lever 26. One end 27 a of thetorsion coil spring 27 is locked in a recessed portion 23 e of thesecond link arm 23, and the other end 27 b thereof is locked in arecessed portion 26 b. Thereby, a locking end 26 c of the locking lever26 is biased in a direction in which the cutout 21 c of the first linkarm 21 and the cutout 23 c of the second link arm 23 are engaged witheach other. Meanwhile, on the rear face of the base panel 6 are disposedan angular position detecting switch 28 which is turned on or off whenthe support plate 19 rotating in cooperation with the disc support arm17 abuts on the switch, and a starting pin 29 for pressing a rear end 26d of the locking lever 26 when the second link arm has reached apredetermined position.

Next, constructions of a slider mechanism and a carrying mechanism Ewhich serve as power transmission elements of the disc support arm 17 tothe driving mechanism C will now be described. First, the carryingmechanism E generally comprises a combination of a loading gear unit G1and a rack gear unit G2. FIGS. 10 and 11 are drawings for explaining aconstruction and operation aspect of the loading gear unit G1. In thesefigures, the reference numeral 30 indicates a loading motor serving as apower source. A worm gear 31 is fixed to an output shaft of the loadingmotor 30 so as to rotate coaxially with the output shaft. A rotationalforce of the worm gear 31 is sequentially transmitted to doubles gears32, 33 and 34, which are journalled to a gear base 35, while the speedis reduced from a small-diameter gear toward a large-diameter gear.

In the above-described construction of the gears, the double gear 32 hasa releasing mechanism that releases a state meshed with the worm gear31. By inserting a pivot pin 37 through an end 36 a of a holder 36 whichis vertically slidable while holding the double gear 32, and bypivotally supporting the double gear 32 while biasing it downward usinga compression coil spring 38, in a normal state, as shown in FIG. 10C,the worm gear 31 and the double gear 32 become a normally meshed state.Meanwhile, an end of the holder 36 on the side of the loading motor 30is formed with a dog head 36 b which enables a knob 39 a of a limitswitch 39 fixed to the gear base 35 to operate.

The underside of the end 36 a the holder 36 is provided with a slidermember 40 which is pivotally supported coaxially with the pivot pin 37.A portion of the slider member 40 journalled to the pivot pin 37 isformed with an elongated groove 40 a so that the slider member isslidable in a direction perpendicular to the end 36 a of the holder 36.Further, an inclined surface 40 b is formed between front and rear endsof the slider member 40. When the slider member 40 is advanced, theinclined surface 40 b pushes up the end 36 a of the holder 36 from thebottom face thereof, so that the entire holder 36 ascends.

A rear end of the slider member 40 is formed with an elongated hole 40d, having a locking end 40 c, which is journalled to a pivot pin 41 andthe rear end thereof is also formed with an actuating pin 40 f having asealing projection 40 e. On the other hand, a front end of the slidermember 40 is formed with a reset piece 40 g which is started accordingthe movement of the rack gear unit G2.

In the slider member 40 constructed as above, a tension coil spring 42for giving a toggle action is provided in a tensioned condition with anangle of inclination between a hooking piece 40 h of the slider memberand a hooking piece 35 a of the gear base 35, so that the slider member40 is biased so as to rotate in the counterclockwise direction while italways retreats.

By constructing the slider member 40 as described above, in a normalstate shown in FIG. 10, the pivot pin 37 is used as a fulcrum of theslider member 40. In this state, when the slider member 40 is pressedfrom the rear end thereof to be allowed to advance, and a lockingstepped portion 40 c of the elongated hole 40 d reaches the pivot pin41, the tensile force of the tension coil spring 42 causes the slidermember 40 to rotate about the pivot pin 37 as a fulcrum, which resultsin a locking state in which the locking stepped potion 40 c and thepivot pin 41 are engaged with each other, as shown in FIG. 11. Thisposture is maintained.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, in the rack gear unit G2, the rack main body43 is integrally formed with gear trains 43 a and 43 b, and the geartrain 43 a meshes with a small-diameter gear of the double gear 34 ofthe loading gear unit Gl. Accordingly, the loading motor 30 is driven,so that the rack main body 43 advances or retreats in the chassis case2. By advancing or retreating the rack main body 43 in this way, thedriving mechanism C connected to a tip of the rack main body 43 isdriven to rock the disc support arm 17, and as shown in FIG. 2, thelever arm 44 connected to the rack main body 43 on the surface of thebase panel 6 rocks a leading arm 50.

A gear member 45 that advances or retreats at the tip of the rack mainbody 43 is disposed in a floating state on the rack main body 43constructed as above. In order to press and advance the gear member 45,a pressing pin 46 having blocks 46 a and 47 b in front of and behinditself is disposed. Also, the gear train 43 b and the gear member 45 ismeshed with and connected to a double gear 47 which is attached to agear frame 48 so as to freely rotate. In this case, a large-diametergear 47 a of the double gear 47 meshes with a rear end of the gear train43 b, and a small-diameter gear 47 b thereof meshes with a tip of thegear member 45 integrally formed with the block 46 b.

Accordingly, when an external force via the pressing pin 46 pushes inthe gear member 45, the double gear 47 rotates in place. Therefore, arotating force of the large-diameter gear 47 a is transmitted to thegear train 43 b to move the rack main body 43. Meanwhile, the referencenumeral 49 indicates an actuating piece that presses the reset piece 40g which is formed at a front end of the slider member 40 of theabove-mentioned loading gear unit G1. In the state of the loading gearunit G1 as shown in FIG. 11, when the actuating piece 49 presses thereset piece 40 g of the slider member 40, the engagement between thepivot pin 41 and the locking stepped portion 40 c is released, whichcauses returning to a state shown in FIG. 10.

In a case where a disc ejecting operation cannot be electricallyperformed after the shutdown of the apparatus, etc., the procedure of“emergency ejection” that manually eject the disc D received will now bedescribed below.

The slider member 40 (see FIG. 10) of the loading gear unit G1 isdisposed behind the through-hole 3 b of the bezel 3, and the block 46 a(see FIG. 12) of the pressing pin 46 is disposed behind the through-hole3 c of the bezel 3.

In the normal state shown in FIG. 10, the sealing projection 40 e of theslider member 40 is located behind the through-hole 3 c of the bezel 3to seal the through-hole 3 c. Thus, even when the ejection pin isinserted through the through-hole 3 c from this state, the emergencyejection cannot be performed.

When an emergency ejection is performed, first, an ejection pin isinserted through the through-hole 3 c of the bezel 3, thereby pressingthe slider member 40. Thereby, the slider member 40 is tilted as shownin FIG. 11 to release a sealed state of the through-hole 3 by thesealing projection 40 e.

Then, since the inclined surface 40 b of the slider member 40 pushes upthe end 36 a of the holder 36 from the bottom face thereof, the meshingbetween the worm gear 31 and the double gear 32 is released, whichbrings the double gears 32, 33 and 34 into a freely rotatable state.

Meanwhile, when the spindle motor 11 rotationally drives a disc, the doghead 36 b of the holder 36 drives the knob 39 a to turn on the limitswitch 39 which causes the spindle motor 11 to be stopped.

Subsequently, the ejection pin pulled out of the through-hole 3 b isinserted into the through-hole 3 c, thereby causing the pressing pin 46and the gear member 45 to advance.

The advancement of the gear member 45 rotates the double gear 47 whichin turn retreats the rack main body 43. The retreat of the rack mainbody 34 causes the frame member 8 to descend, thereby releasing the discD from being clamped. Thereafter, the disc support arm 17 is rocked toeject the disc D.

Next, a construction and operation aspect of an elevating mechanism ofthe frame member 8 will not be described. The elevating mechanismcomprises the rack main body 43, the slide member 51 which advances orretreats in synchronization with the rack main body 43, and a followerpins 53 which is guided in cam grooves which are formed in the rack mainbody 43 and the slide member 51. The slide member 51 is connected to therack main body 43 by a link member 55 a. Thereby, the rack main body 43and the slider member 51 advances or retreats in synchronization witheach other. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the rack main body 43 hasadvanced farthest, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which the rack main body43 has retreated farthest.

The follower pin 53 fixed to the frame member 8 is arranged such that anopen end thereof is engaged with the cam grooves, respectively, whichare formed in the rack main body 43 and the slide member 51. Since theengagement relationships between the follower pin 53 and the respectivecam grooves are substantially common to each other, the followingdescription will be made about an engagement relationship between thecam groove of the rack main body 43 and the follower pin 53 as arepresentative example.

First, in an embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 to 19, the follower pin 53fixed to the frame member 8 is mounted with an elastic ring 54 havingflexibility. On the other hand, the cam grooved formed in the rack mainbody 43 is formed to a double-cam structure consisting of a cam groove43 c which the follower pin 53 is sled in and guided by, and a camgroove 43 d which brings follower pin 53 into a loosely fitted state tosuch an extent that the follower pin 53 does not come in contact withthe elastic ring 54 while being guided by the cam groove 43.

At a higher portion P2 of the cam grooves 43 c and 43 d, the cam groove43 d to hold the elastic ring 54 is formed to have almost the samediameter as the elastic ring 54. Further, the cam groove 43 c terminatesin the vicinity of an inlet of the higher portion P2, and is open to thehigher portion P2. Accordingly, in a range of the cam groove 43 c beingformed, the cam groove 43 c regulates and supports the follower pin 53.Then, when the follower pin 53 reaches the higher portion P2, thefollower pin 53 is supported through the elastic ring 54.

Next, an operation aspect of the elevating mechanism of the frame member8 constructed as above will now be described with reference to theprocess views shown in FIGS. 13 to 19. FIG. 13 shows the earliest statein which the disc D is loaded into the disc apparatus 1 and stops at aposition where the central hole Da of the disc D faces the clamping head7. In this state, since the follower pin 53 is located at a lowerportion P1 of the cam groove 43 c, the frame member 8 descends to itslowermost position, and the clamping head 7 is in a standby state forascent thereof. When the rack main body 43 begins to further retreatfrom this state, as shown in FIG. 14, the follower pin 53 graduallyascends while being guided by an inclined portion P3 of the cam groove43 c, whereby the frame member 8 and the clamping head 7 also begins toascend.

Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the follower pin 53 being guided by thecam grooved 43 c further ascends the inclined portion P3, a chuckingpawl 7 a of the clamping head 7 abuts on an opening end of the centralhold Da of the disc D. As shown in FIG. 16, when the clamping head 7ascends from this state, the chucking pawl 7 a thereof pushes up thedisc D which causes the opening end of the central hole Da to be pushedagainst the protrusion 2 b of the opening 2 a of the chassis case 2. Asshown in FIG. 17, when the follower pin 53 is further guided and reachesan apex of the cam groove 43 c, the clamping head 7 is fitted into thecentral hole Da of the disc D, and the chucking pawl 7 a thereof islocked to the opening end of the disc D to fix the disc D onto theturntable 10, thereby performing clamping.

When the rack main body 43 further retreats from the state in FIG. 17,the frame member 8 descends slightly, and as shown in FIG. 18, theelastic ring 54 fits into the higher portion P2. At this position, theclamping operation is completed. In this way, the follower pin 53departs from the cam groove 43 c, thereby releasing the regulation andsupport of the follower pin 53 by the cam groove 43 c, and the elasticring 54 elastically supports the follower pin 53, thereby generating abuffer action against a shock to the frame member 8.

FIG. 19 is a drawing showing a process of unloading the disc D. Byadvancing the rack main body 43, the follower pin 53 goes through aprocess reverse to the above-mentioned process. Specifically, while thefollower pin 53 reaches the lower portion P1, a clamping releasing pin56 enables the disc D to depart from the clamping head 7 and to beunloaded to the outside of the apparatus. Meanwhile, in order tofacilitate understanding about the operation aspect as described above,FIG. 20 shows a process of clamping the disc D, and FIG. 21 continuouslyshow a process of releasing the disc D.

Next, an operation aspect of the disc support arm 17 will now bedescribed. The driving mechanism C for driving the disc support arm 17is constructed by assembling mechanism elements shown in FIG. 9.However, the operation of the driving mechanism is performed withadvancement or retreat of the rack main body 43. Specifically, in FIG.22, a guide groove 43 f formed in the rack main body 43 is mounted witha follower pin 25 c fixed to an end of the lever arm 25 so that thefollower pin 25 c is guided by the guide groove 43 f. The state shown inFIG. 22 represents an initial state in which an operator inserts thedisc D through the slot 3 a such that the front end of the disc D isreceived in the end-receiving portion 18 a of the holder 18 at the tipof the disc support arm 17. Since a rear end 26 d of the locking lever26 is pressed by means of the starting pin 29 at this point of time, thelocking end 26 c thereof is in a state that is not interposed betweenthe cutouts 21 c and 23 c of the first and second link arms 21 and 23.

FIG. 23 shows a state in which an operator further pushes the disc Dinto the apparatus. Specifically, FIG. 23 shows a state in which thedisc support arm 17 rocks rearward, the first link arm 21 connected to abase end of the disc support arm 17 by the pivot pint 17 c is towed, andthe drive starting. position detecting switch 28 a inside the angularposition detecting switch 28 is operated. At this point of time, sincethe lever arm 35 is connected to the stationary rack main body 43, thesecond link arm 23 connected to the lever arm 25 is kept in place.Accordingly, the first link arm 21 is in a state unlocked from thesecond link arm 23, and as shown in this figure, the first link arm 21slides on the second link arm 23 to be brought into its extending state.From this point of time, in response to the drive starting positiondetecting switch 28 a being turned on, the loading motor 30 is drivenwith a weak electric power, whereby the carrying mechanism E begins tobe driven.

FIG. 24 shows a state in which an operator further pushes the disc Dinto the apparatus. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the discsupport arm 17 rocks rearward, the first link arm 21 connected to thebase end of the disc support arm 17 by the pivot pint 17 c is towed, andthe intermediate position detecting switch 28 b inside the angularposition detecting switch 28 is operated. At this point of time, sincethe carrying mechanism E begins to be driven in response to the drivestarting position detecting switch 28 a having already been turned on inthe state in FIG. 23, the rack main body 43 is in its retreated state.Specifically, as the rack main body 43 retreats, the guide groove 43 fthereof rocks the lever arm 25, and the second link arm 23 slides andadvances so as to follow the first link arm 21. Therefore, the lockingend 26 c of the locking lever 26 released from the pressing caused bythe starting pin 29 is sandwiched between the cutouts 21 c and 23 c ofthe first and second link arms 21 and 23, which results in an integrallylocked state of the first and second link arms 21 and 23. In otherwords, during the loading of the disc D, after the first and second linkarms 21 and 23 has first been displaced in a direction in which theyextend (from the state in FIG. 22 to the state in FIG. 23), the firstand second link arms 21 and 23 are displaced in a direction in whichthey retract (from the state in FIG. 23 to the state in FIG. 22), whichresults in a state in which the first and second link arms 21 and 23 arelocked.

FIG. 25 shows a state in which the rack main body 43 further retreats sothat the disc support arm 17 rocks rearward to load the disc D into theapparatus, and the central hole Da of the disc D coincides with theclamping head 7. Meanwhile, at this point of time, the holder 18 and theleading arm 50 chuck and hold the disc D, and the disc support arm 17and the leading arm 50 rocks synchronously.

In the process of FIGS. 25 and 26, since the follower pin 25 c of thelever arm 25 slides on only a longitudinal guide portion of the guidegroove 43 f of the rack main body 43, so the disc support arm 17 aremaintained in place. On the other hand, the follower pin 53 is guided inthe cam grooves which are formed in the rack main body 43 and the slidemember 51, whereby the elevating mechanism of the frame member 8operates, and at the point of time shown in FIG. 26, the clamping head 7enter the central hole Da of the disc D. Then, a tapered portion formedat the top of clamping head 7 comes in contacts with the central hole Daof the disc D, thereby performing centering.

Thereafter, when the clamping head 7 further enters the central hole Daof the disc D, the disc D ascends by means of the clamping head 7. Atthe time of this ascending movement, the chucking by the disc supportarm 17 and the leading arm 50 is obstructed. If the clamping head 7 iselevated while the chucking is performed, the disc D is deformed in theshape of an umbrella, which applies load to the ascending movement ofthe clamping head 7. Thus, after performing the centering by the taperedportion formed at the top of the clamping head 7, the chucking isreleased while the disc support arm 17 and the leading arm 50 are keptaway from the disc D, and the clamping head 7 is further elevated tocause the chucking pawl 7 a to be engaged with the central hole Da ofthe disc D.

FIG. 27 shows a state in which, after the clamping head 7 clamped thecentral hole Da of the disc D from the point of time of FIG. 26, therack main body 43 has slightly retreated. Since this slightly rocks therack main body 43 at a terminating portion of the longitudinal groove ofthe guide groove 43, and as shown in this figure, also slightly rocksthe disc support arm 17, the chucking of the disc D by means of theholder 18 is released. When this point of time has been reached, theleading arm 50 also slightly rocks synchronously, thereby releasing thechucking of the disc D. Further, in the elevating mechanism of the framemember 8, the follower pin 53 slightly descends within the cam groove 43c, which enable the disc D to be rotationally driven. That is, theclamping operation is completed.

The above description is made of the operation aspect of the drivingmechanism C at the time of the loading of the disc D. At the time of theunloading of the disc D, the respective mechanism elements perform areverse operation that trace a course reverse to the above-describedprocess of operation. In other word, the carrying mechanism E isreversely driven. Specifically, the rack main body 43 is advanced torock the disc support arm 17 forwardly from the state in FIG. 27 to thestate in FIG. 24. In the state shown in FIG. 28, the rear end 26 d ofthe locking lever 26 abuts the starting pin 29. Then, when the rack mainbody 43 advances, the rear end 26 d is brought into a state of beingpressed by the starting pin 29. This, as shown in FIG. 28, causes thelocking end 26 c of the locking lever 26 to be rocked and separated fromthe cutouts 21 c and 23 c of the first link arm 21 and the second linkarm 23, and causes the first link arm 21 and the second link arm 23 tobe released from their integrally locked state. Simultaneously withthis, the biasing force of the tension coil spring 22 is applied torocks the disc support arm 17 to the position shown in FIG. 22. Then, atthe last moment of a final unloading process, the disc D is popped outfrom the slot 3 a, thereby completing the unloading.

As described above, at the time of beginning of the loading operation ofthe disc D, the first and second link arms 21 and 23 are in theirunlocked state. As the disc D is inserted, the first and second linkarms 21 and 23 are first displaced in a direction in which they areextended and are then displaced in a direction in which they areretracted, and they are locked by the locking lever 26, when they hasreached the state in FIG. 24. On the other hand, at the time ofbeginning of the unloading operation of the disc D, the first and secondlink arms 21 and 23 are in their locked state. Thus, the first andsecond link arms 21 and 23 are not displaced in a direction in whichthey are extended or retracted as in the unloading of the disc D, butthey are released from being locked by the locking lever 26, when theyhas reached the state in FIG. 28. Meanwhile, at the time of theunloading of the disc D, since the carrying mechanism E drivinglycontrols almost the whole unloading process, the unloading operationalways becomes regular, and at the time of the completion of theunloading, a state in which the disc D is exposed from the slot 3 a ofthe bezel 3 and then stopped is always kept constant.

Next, a construction and operation aspect of the leading arm 50 which isdriven by the rack main body 43 will now be described below. FIG. 29shows a construction that drives the leading arm 50. Specifically, aguide slit 6 b is formed in a base panel 6 at a position that overlapsthe guide groove 43 e formed in the rack main body 43, and a followerpin 57 fixed to the front end of the lever arm 44 are inserted into theguide groove 43 e and the guide slit 6 b. The base panel 6 to beadvanced or retreated and the guide slit 6 b which is located in placewith respect to the guide groove 43 e cooperate with each other tocontrol the movement of the follower pin 57.

In the leading arm 50, as shown in FIG. 32, the lever arm 44 isjournalled to a pivot pin 59 by the base end which is rotatablysupported by the pivot pin 58. A tip of the leading arm 50 is formedwith a retaining groove of the disc D, and a roller 60 is formed withinthe retaining groove. Since the leading arm 50 is constructed as such,it rocks within the chassis case 2 with the movement of the lever arm 44so that the disc D can be loaded into the apparatus.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 30, the lever arm 44 fortransmitting a driving force to the leading arm 50 includes a slidepiece 44A and a support piece 44B. The slide piece 44A is formed with athrough-hole 44 a that rotatably supports the pivot pin 59 of theleading arm 50, and is formed with locking pieces 44 b and a downwardprojected locking protrusion 44 c. The support piece 44B is formed witha through-hole 44 d that fixes the follower pin 57, and a guide groove44 f having slits 44 e formed at its opposite sides. Also, a bottomplate portion of the guide groove 44 f of the support piece 44 b isformed with a through-hole 44 g, and is formed with cutouts 44 h thatface the guide groove 44 f.

When the locking claws 44 b of the slide piece 44A formed as such arerespectively inserted into the cutouts 44 h of the support piece 44B,and the slide piece 44A is slightly sled forward, the locking claws 44 bare respectively locked in the slits 44 e, and the locking protrusion 44c is integrally engaged with the through-hole 44 g of the support piece44B. As a result, the slide piece 44A and the support piece 44B can beextended or retracted with respect to each other. However, in a state inwhich the locking protrusion 44 c is engaged with the through-hole 44 g,a reference length of the lever arm is brought into a locked state.

FIGS. 32 to 36 illustrate an operation aspect of the leading arm 50,correspondingly to an operation aspect of the follower pin 53 guided inthe cam groove 43 d of the rack main body 43. FIG. 32 shows a statebefore an operator inserts the disc D into the disc apparatus 1.

Specifically, the disc support arm 17 is pushed back toward the leadingend thereof in a direction in which the disc D is loaded, and thus locksrearward, the support plate 19 which interlocks with the disc supportarm 17 operates the drive starting position detecting switch 28 a insidethe angular position detecting switch 28, and the loading motor 30 isdriven with a weak current which results in a state immediately beforethe driving mechanism C starts to operate. Accordingly, as shown in FIG.32, the rack main body 43 is located at the most front end, and thefollower pin 57 of the lever arm 44 is located at the rear end of theguide groove 43 e. Thereafter, when the drive starting positiondetecting switch 28 a inside the angular position detecting switch 28operates, the rack main body 43 begins to retreat.

In this state, when the disc D continues to be further pushed into thedisc apparatus 1 after the driving mechanism C begins to operate, thedisc support arm 17 further rocks rearward, the support plate 19 whichinterlocks with the disc support arm 17 is also varied in its rotationalangle, an intermediate position detecting switch 28 b inside the angularposition detecting switch 28 operates, and the loading motor 30 isdriven with a strong electric power. Then, as shown in FIG. 33, the rackmain body 43 further retreats. At this time, since the follower pin 57is sandwiched between the inclined surface of the guide groove 43 e atits rear end and a sidewall of the guide slit 6 b, with the retreat ofthe rack main body 43, the follower pin 57 also retreats, and the leverarm 44 is towed, so that the leading arm 50 rocks which results in astate in which the disc support arm 17 chucks the disc D, therebystarting the loading of the disc D. At this time, the follower pin 53 ismoved along a horizontal portion that is the lower portion P1 of the camgroove 43 c, and has no variation in height.

FIG. 34 shows a state in which the rack main body 43 further retreatsand the follower pin 57 reaches the top of the guide slit 6 b.Specifically, the rocking of the leading arm 50 allows the disc D tocontinue to be loaded, so that the central hole Da of the disc D hasreached a position which coincides with the clamping head 7. In thisstate, the follower pin 57 begins to ascend the inclined portion P3 ofthe cam groove 43 c at an upward gradient.

FIG. 35 shows a state in which the rack main body 43 has slightlyretreated from the position in FIG. 34, in other words, a state in whichthe follower pin 57 is pushed into a lateral groove at the top of theguide slit 6 b by the guide groove 43 e. The leading arm 50 slightlyretreats from the position shown in FIG. 34, thereby releasing chuckingof the disc D. At this time, the follower pin 57 reaches the top of theinclined portion P3 of the cam groove 43 e, and the clamping head 7 isfixed to the central hole Da of the disc D.

FIG. 36 shows a state in which the rack main body 43 retreats to itsfinal position. In the process of the state in FIG. 35 to the state inFIG. 36, the follower pin is further pushed into the lateral grooves atthe top of the guide slit 6 b by an elongated groove at the front end ofthe guide groove 43 e. Thereby, the leading arm 50 is completelyseparated from the disc D. At this time, the follower pin 57 is loweredfrom the top of the cam groove 43 c to the higher portion P2 whichenables the rotational driving of the disc.

FIG. 37 is a plan view for explaining an operation aspect of the leverarm 44 when a user pulls out the disc D during the loading operation.

In the loading process of the disc D, in other words, in a state inwhich the rack main body 43 retreats, and the leading arm 50 loads thedisc D to the position indicated by an imaginary line, the disc D ispulled out in its unloaded direction. When the disc D reaches a positionindicated by a solid line in the same figure, the leading arm 50 alsorocks. At this time, the support piece 44B of the lever arm 44 is movedin direction of an arrow X2 because the traction of the lever arm 44 bythe rack main body 43 continues, while the slide piece 44A is moved in adirection of an arrow X1 with the rocking of the leading arm 50.

Under those situations, the slide piece 44A and the support piece 44Bare moved in directions opposite to each other, thereby applying a loadover a predetermined value to the locking protrusion 44 c andthrough-hole 44 g, as shown in FIG. 38A, which are in their engagedstate. Thus, the above-mentioned engaged state which is locked by thereference length is released, as shown in FIG. 38B, and the slide piece44A is sled in the direction of the arrow X1. As a result, a negativeforce which is created in the lever arm 44 from the leading arm 50 bythe operation of pulling out the disc D is absorbed by the sliding ofthe slide piece 44A, so that the leading arm 50, the lever arm 44 andthe driving mechanism for driving the lever arm 44 can be prevented frombeing damaged.

When the damage accompanying the operation of pulling out the disc D isprevented in that way, an error detecting operation which will bedescribed below reverses the driving mechanism at that point of time, sothat the carrying of the disc D can be reversed in the unloadingdirection. In this case, the slide piece 44A of the lever arm 44, asshown in FIG. 37, is in a state that is extended from a position in itsnormal state. However, in the process that reaches the initial state inFIG. 32, the support piece 44B is pushed into the slide piece 44A, whichreturns the lever arm 44 to a state locked by the reference length inits normal state.

Meanwhile, in the above-described construction of the present invention,the engaged state between the locking protrusion 44 c and thethrough-hole 44 g of the lever arm 44 is adjusted, so that the timing atwhich the engagement is released corresponding to the magnitude of theload can be set. Further, the above embodiment has been described inconjunction with the construction in which the slide piece 44A and thesupport piece 44B are formed in a shape of a thin plate. However, thepresent invention is not limited thereto as long as the reference lengthof the lever arm 44 in its normal state can be put into a locked stateand the extension or retraction thereof is allowed.

[Clamp Safety Mechanism]

FIG. 39, FIG. 40, FIG. 41, FIG. 42 and FIG. 43 show only principal partsfor explaining a safety mechanism of a clamping operation in the discapparatus 1.

The stopper 72 is provided to be rotatable about a shaft 72 a on thebase panel 6.

A leaf spring 83 is hitched in a direction that always biases a tonguepiece 72 b of the stopper 72 in a direction that discharges a disc.

In the vicinity of the opening 73, a prop 84 formed by cutting anderecting the base panel 6 is provided.

FIG. 39, FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 are schematic views respectively showing anoperation when the disc D is normally clamped.

In FIG. 39, at timing that a terminating end of the rack main body 43gets closer to the stopper 72, the circumferential edge of the disc Dpushes the tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72. Then, the stopper 72rotates in the clockwise direction about the shaft 72 a. At this time, atip 72 c of the stopper 72 does not come in contact with the rack mainbody 43.

At this time, the leaf spring 83 that is being pressing the stopper 72does not contact with the prop 84. In other words, the stopper 72 is ina state that receives a weak biasing force from the overall length ofleaf spring 83. Accordingly, the stopper 72 is easily rotated by apressing force applied from the circumferential edge of the disc D whenthe disc D is pulled in by the leading arm 50.

In FIG. 40, the tip 72 c of the stopper 72 comes in contacts with afirst inclined portion 43 h of the rack main body 43. In this state, thestopper 72 further rotates in the clockwise direction with theretreating movement of the rack main body 43, which results in releasingthe restriction on the rack main body 43.

Thereafter, as the rack main body 43 moves, the tip 72 a of the stopper72 is brought into sliding contact with a first long side 43 i of therack main body 43. Then, the leaf spring 83 that is being pressing thestopper 72 comes in contact with the prop 84. Then, the state of thestopper 72 is changed from the state that receives a weak biasing forcefrom the leaf spring 83, to a state that receives a large biasing forcebecause the scope within which the biasing force of the leaf spring 83is applied is narrowed up to the prop 84. Then, when the disc D ispulled out by the leading arm 50, since it is difficult for the tonguepiece 72 b of the stopper 72 to move against the pressing force appliedfrom the circumferential edge of the disc D, the tongue piece 72 b ofthe stopper 72 regulates the movement of the disc D against the pressingforce that is applied from the circumferential edge of the disc D.

The position of the tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72 at this time isa position where the central hole Da of the disc D coincides with theclamping head 7. In other words, the tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72at this time can prevent a shift in the position of the disc D duringthe clamping operation, and can serves as a guide for reliablyperforming the clamping operation.

In the first long side 43 i of the rack main body 43, the length of thefirst long side is a process itself in the middle of the clampingoperation, and the position thereof is a regulating position for makingthe tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72 serve as a guide member of theclamping operation. 75]

In FIG. 41, immediately before the completion of the clamping operation,the tip 72 c of the stopper 72 goes over the first long side 43 i of therack main body 43, passes by a second inclined portion 43 j, and comesin contact with the second long side 43 k, and the stopper 72 furtherrotates in the clockwise direction. Then, the tongue piece 72 b of thestopper 72 is slightly separated from the circumferential edge of thedisc D, and is located at a position that does not obstruct the rotationof the disc D. Specifically, if the clamping operation has beencompleted, the roll of the tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72 as aguide comes to an end. Thus, it is necessary to separate the tonguepiece 72 b of the stopper 72 away from the disc D. This operation isrealized by a position regulated by the second long side 43 k of therack main body 43.

FIGS. 42 to 43 are schematic views respectively showing the operationwhen an operator intends to pull out the disc D during the process ofloading the disc D.

In FIG. 42, at timing that the terminating end of the rack main body 43gets closer to the stopper 72, the operator intends to pull out the discD. Thus, the circumferential edge of the disc D does not push the tonguepiece 72 b of the stopper 72.

In FIG. 43, the terminating end of the rack main body 43 comes incontact with the tip 72 c of the stopper 72. The stopper 72 is locatedto limit the movement of the rack main body 43, so that when the rackmain body 43 moves and comes in contact with the stopper 72, the rackmain body 43 cannot move any more. The rack main body 43 is providedwith the cam groove 43 c and the cam groove 43 d, which performs theclamping operation, and the stopper 72 limits the movement of the rackmain body 43, so that the follower pin 53 cannot be moved to theinclined portion P3 of the cam groove 43 c and the cam groove 43 d. As aresult, the clamping operation by the rack main body 43 is forbidden.

FIG. 44 is an enlarged of an upper left portion of FIG. 4, which showsprincipal parts only.

One end of the rack main body 43 moves between a position U1 and aposition U2.

The position U1 is a state in which the rack main body 43 is moving in acertain direction (front side) of the bezel 3 of the disc apparatus 1,and the disc D is not clamped. In this state, the detecting piece 80 aof an ejection completion detecting switch 80 is separated from one endof the rack main body 43, and the ejection completion detecting switch80 is turned off. Similarly, a detecting piece 81 a of a loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 as clamping completion detecting means isseparated from one end of the rack main body 43, and the loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 is also turned off.

The position U2 is a state in which the rack main body 43 is moving in adirection (rear side) opposite to the certain direction of the bezel 3of the disc apparatus 1, and the disc D is clamped. In this state, thedetecting piece 80 a of the ejection completion detecting switch 80comes in contact with a lateral face of the rack main body 43, and theejection completion detecting switch 80 is also turned on. Similarly,the detecting switch 8la of the loading completion detecting switch 81is pushed by means of one end of the rack main body 43, and the loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 is also turned on.

In other words, the loading completion detecting switch 81 is turned on,whereby the loading motor 30 is turned off. As a result, the loadingoperation that pulls in the disc D and clamps it is completed.

Further, the ejection completion detecting switch 80 is turned off,whereby the loading motor 30 is turned off. As a result, the ejectingoperation that releases the clamping the disc D and ejects it iscompleted.

FIG. 45 is a plan view showing principal parts which are extracted fromaround the base panel 6 of the disc apparatus 1 in FIG. 2. This figureis different from FIG. 2 in that the entries of reference numerals ofseveral parts are omitted.

An outermost circumferential position detecting switch 75 is provided ata place of the carrier block 13 close to a guide shaft 15. When thecarrier block 13 reaches the outermost circumferential position, theoutmost circumferential position detecting switch 75 comes in contactwith the carrier block 13 and is then turned off.

FIG. 46 is a plan view showing the relationship between the disc supportarm 17 and the angular position detecting switch 28, of the discapparatus 1.

FIG. 47 is a schematic view, which is also used as a timing chart,showing the state and operation of the disc apparatus 1.

FIGS. 48 to 51 are enlarged plan views showing the status of the supportplate 19 and the angular position detecting switch 28 of the parts shownin FIG. 47.

The disc support arm 17 is provided with the support plate 19 whichrotates in cooperation therewith.

At the circumferential portion of the support plate 19, a portion whoseboth ends protrude radially, and a portion which is radially recessedbetween the both ends, constitutes a cam.

The angular position detecting switch 28 operated by the support plate19 is provided near to the support plate 19.

The support plate 19 is provided for driving an operating piece 28 c ofthe angular position detecting switch 28. When the support plate 19rotates, the operating piece 28 c is varied in angular position to theleft, middle and right with respect to a main body of the angularposition detecting switch 28 depending on the angular position of thesupport plate 19.

Two switches are built in the angular position detecting switch 28.

The angular position detecting switch 28 is constructed to stabilize theoperating piece 28 c at its middle position by means of a spring builttherein. When the operating piece 28 c falls down to one side, oneswitch is exclusively turned off, whereas when the operating piece 28 cfalls down to the other side, the other switch is exclusively turnedoff. At the middle position of the operating piece 28 c, both the twoswitches are kept turned on.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing the disc apparatus 1 of slot-in typeon the basis of a control means thereof. A microcomputer 70 as thecontrol means includes a known one that has a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, buses,and the like therein, all of which are not shown.

The ejection switch 4, the thread motor 16, the angular positiondetecting switch 28, a motor driver 71, the outermost circumferentialposition detecting switch 75, a data processing unit 76, and theejection completion detecting switch 80, and the loading completiondetecting switch 81 are connected to the buses of the microcomputer 70.

Other various components than the above ones are connected to themicrocomputer 70. However, the relationship of connection between or theillustrations of components which are not directly related to thepresent invention will be omitted.

The ejection switch 4 is a known push button controlled type switchwhich is disposed in the vicinity of the slot 3 a of the bezel 3.

Further, the bezel 3 is provided with the through-hole 3 b and 3 c. Byinserting an ejection pin (not shown) through the through-holes 3 b and3 c, the rack main body 43 is driven by means of the above-mentionedemergency ejection mechanism so that the disc D can be manually ejected.

Meanwhile, the ejection pin is a known wire-like pin which is used foran emergency ejection mechanism in a conventional optical discapparatus.

The thread motor 16 is a motor for driving a lead screw 79 to cause thecarrier block 13 having the optical pickup 12 placed thereon toreciprocate in the radial direction of the disc D, and for moving thecarrier block 13 to a position remotest from the driving shaft of thespindle motor 11 when being shifted to an ejection preparation statewhich will be described below.

The outermost circumferential position detecting switch 75 is providedinside the frame member 8, and when the carrier block 13 moves towardthe outermost circumferential edge of the disc and reaches a mechanicalstop position, the switch is pressed and turned off by the carrier block13.

Meanwhile, the mechanical stop position is hereinafter referred to as“outermost circumferential position of disc”.

The motor driver 71 is provided for supplying electric power to theloading motor 30, and is constructed by, for example, a circuit based ona power transistor.

The microcomputer 70 performs two-state power control over the motordriver 71. This power control will be described below.

The data processing unit 76 supplies information read from the opticalpickup 12 via a signal processing circuit 77, to a host system throughan ATAPI interface, and takes operation command of the microcomputer 70according to various commands from the host system.

As described above, the ejection completion detecting switch 80 isseparated at a position where the rack main body 43 driven by theloading motor 30 completes the ejecting operation. In other words, theejection completion detecting switch 80 is a switch which detects whatthe rack main body 43 has reached a point of time of the completion ofthe ejecting operation.

As described above, the loading completion detecting switch 81 ispressed at a position where the rack main body 43 driven by the loadingmotor 30 completes the clamping operation. In other words, the loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 is a switch which detects what the rackmain body 43 has reached a point of time of the completion of theloading operation.

As described above, the angular position detecting switch 28 has twoswitches consisting of the drive starting position detecting switch 28 aand the intermediate position detecting switch 28 b built therein.

The ejection switch 4, the ejection completion detecting switch 80, theloading completion detecting switch 81, the drive starting positiondetecting switch 28 a and intermediate position detecting switch 28 b,which are built in the angular position detecting switch 28, and theoutermost circumferential position detecting switch 75 are respectivelypulled up to a power supply voltage via resistors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 andR6, and has 0 V in their ON state.

[Loading Control]

From now on, functions related to the operation of loading control willbe described.

FIG. 53 shows a logical state between the drive starting positiondetecting switch 28 a and the intermediate position detecting switch 28b, which are built in built in the angular position detecting switch 28,the ejection completion detecting switch 80, the loading completiondetecting switch 81, when the disc D is inserted into the disc apparatus1 to perform a loading operation.

A point of time t0 indicates a state before the disc D is inserted intothe slot 3 a, and a point of time t1 indicates a state in which, afterthe disc D is inserted into the slot 3 a, the circumferential edge ofthe disc D comes in contact with the disc support arm 17.

A period from the point of time t0 to the point of time t1 correspondsto the “ejecting position” in FIG. 47 and the state in FIG. 48.

The ejecting position is a position where a user pushes the disc D intothe disc apparatus 1, and the disc D merely touches the holder 18. Inother words, the ejecting position is a position when the disc D isejected from the disc apparatus 1, and the disc support arm 17 is swungup to complete the ejecting operation. At this position, the operatingpiece 28 c is in contact with a first protruding portion of the supportplate 19, and is swung downward in FIG. 48.

At this point of time, the drive starting position detecting switch 28a, the ejection completion detecting switch 80 and the loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 are turned off, and the intermediateposition detecting switch 28 b is turned on.

During a period immediately before a point of time t2 from the point oftime t1, a user further pushes the disc D into the disc apparatus 1 fromthe state in FIG. 48, to thereby rotate the disc support arm 17, whilethe operating piece 28 c comes in contact with the first protrudingportion of the support plate 19 to continue to be in sliding contacttherewith.

Up to this point of time, the logical states of the respective switchesdo not change from the state at the point of time t1.

The point of time t2 indicates a state in which the disc D pushes in thedisc support arm 17 and the drive starting position detecting switch 28a is turned on, and corresponds to the “drive starting position” in FIG.47 and the state in FIG. 49.

In other words, at the point of time t2, a user further pushes the discD into the disc apparatus 1 from the state in FIG. 48, and the disc Dpushes in the disc support arm 17 via the holder 18.

Thereby, the support plate 19 rotates, and the operating piece 28 creaches the recessed portion of the support plate 19.

Since the recessed portion of the support plate 19 is constructed so asnot to narrowly come in contact with the operating piece 28 c, thesupport plate 19 and the operating piece 28 c is brought in no contactwith each other.

In FIG. 49, the operating piece 28 c keeps its middle position.

At this point of time, the drive starting position detecting switch 28 ais switched from OFF to ON.

Meanwhile, the ejection completion detecting switch 80 and the loadingcompletion detecting switch 81 are in their OFF state, and theintermediate position detecting switch 28 b remains turned-on.

In response to the drive starting position detecting switch 28 a beingturned on, the microcomputer 70 supplies driving control signals inpulses to the motor driver 71. In other words, PWM control is carriedout. In this embodiment, the PWM control is carried out using pulseshaving a duty ratio of 10%. As a result, an electric power whose sourcepower is limited up to about 10% is supplied from the motor driver 71 tothe loading motor 30.

Then, the loading motor 30 begins to rotate with a weak current, and therack main body 43 is driven. In response to this operation, the leadingarm 50 is driven. After a while, the roller 60 at the tip of the leadingarm 50 comes in contact with the outer edge of the disc D. However,since the electric power supplied to the loading motor 30 through thePWM control by the microcomputer 70 is weak, it cannot generate anenough driving force to drive the disc D in its loaded direction or inits ejecting direction reverse to the loaded direction.

In other words, in this state, the pulling operation is substantiallycarried out by a force the pushes the disc D into the disc apparatus 1with a user's hand. Then, while the roller 60 at the tip of the leadingarm 50 comes in contact with the outer edge of the disc D, the disc D isentered in its loaded direction of the disc apparatus 1 by a force fromthe user's hand.

At this point of time, the loading motor 30 is not driven with its fullpower. This is because, if a force generated at a point where the roller60 at the tip of the leading arm 50 comes in contact with the outer edgeof the disc D is not turned to the loading direction of the discapparatus 1, the force may be rather applied to the disc D in adirection that ejects the disc D.

After a while, the rack main body 43 moves, whereby the ejectioncompletion detecting switch 80 is also turned on at a point of time t3.It is noted herein that this operation is directly related to theloading operation.

A point of time t4 indicates a state in which the disc D pushes in thedisc support arm 17, and the intermediate position detecting switch 28 bis turned off, and corresponds to the “intermediate position” in FIG. 47and the state in FIG. 47.

At this point of time t4, the support plate 19 further rotates from thestate in FIG. 49, and the operating piece 28 c comes in contact with asecond protruding portion from the recessed portion of the support plate19.

The operating piece 28 c comes in contact with the second protrudingportion of the support plate 19, so that the operating piece 28 c inFIG. 50 is slightly swung upward from the middle position.

At this time, a larger half of the disc D reaches the inside of the discapparatus 1.

In response to the intermediate position detecting switch 28 b beingturned off, the microcomputer 70 supplies a DC driving control signalsto the motor driver 71. Thereby, electric power whose source power isnot limited is supplied from the motor driver 71 to the loading motor30. Then, the loading motor 30 begins to rotate with a strong electricpower, and the rack main body 43 is further driven. In response to thisoperation, the leading arm 50 is driven. At this point of time, sincethe roller 60 at the tip of the leading arm 50 has already come incontact with.the outer edge of the disc D, the disc D is driven in itsloaded direction.

Immediately before reaching a point of time t5, the circumferential edgeof the disc D pushes the tongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72. Thisallows the mechanical shift of the rack main body 43 to the clampingoperation.

The point of time t5 indicates s a state in which the center of the discD coincides with the clamping head 7 provided in the spindle motor 11,and the clamping operation begins, and the support plate 19 furtherrotates from the state in FIG. 50. In this state, the angular positiondetecting switch 28 does not have any logical change.

When the clamping operation proceeds from the point of time t5, the rackmain body 43 turns on the loading completion detecting switch 81 at apoint of time t6. This state corresponds to the “loaded position” inFIG. 47 and the state in FIG. 51.

In response to the loading completion detecting switch 81 being turnedon, the microcomputer 70 controls to prohibit the supply of electricpower to the motor driver 71. Then, the rotation of the loading motor 30stops, thereby completing the loading operation. That is, the clampingoperation is completed.

FIG. 54 is a flowchart of a disc loading operation that is performed bya microcomputer 70. A program related to this operation is stored in aROM (not shown) which is located in the microcomputer 70.

In Step S100, the disc loading operation program starts. Then, in StepS101, it is determined whether or not the drive starting positiondetecting switch 28 a is turned on. Polling is performed until the drivestarting position detecting switch 28 a is turned on.

When an operator inserts the disc D into the disc apparatus 1 withhis/her hand, the circumferential edge of the disc D touches the holder18 at the tip of the disc support arm 17, and the disc D is furtherpushed in, the drive starting position detecting switch 28 a is turnedon. If the drive starting position detecting switch 28 a is turned on, asoftware timer that measures five seconds in Step S102 is started.

Next, in Step S103, the loading motor 30 is driven by the PWM driving of10%. The loading motor 30 is rotationally driven with a weak electricpower, the rack main body 43 is driven, and the leading arm 50 begins tobe driven. After a while, the leading arm 50 follows the speed at whicha user inserts the disc D, and the roller 60 at the tip of the leadingarm 50 comes in contact with the rear end of the disc D. +ere, since theelectric power applied to the loading motor 30 is weak, the leading arm50 does not have an enough driving force to pushes in the disc D.

Next, in Step S104, while reading a value of a five-second timer, it isdetermined whether or not five seconds have elapsed from the point oftime when the timer started, i.e., from the point of time when the discD reached a drive starting position. If five seconds have not elapsed inStep S104, it is determined in next Step S105 that the intermediateposition detecting switch 28 b is turned off.

When the disc D is further pushed in from the point of time in Step S101by the operation of inserting the disc D with a user's hand, the discsupport arm 17 finally reaches an angular position that makes theintermediate position detecting switch 28 b turned off. Themicrocomputer 70 returns to Step S104 and then monitors a five-secondtimer until the intermediate position detecting switch 28 b is turnedoff in Step S105. If five seconds have elapsed, factors such as whetherthe loading operation by an operator's hand was too slow, or whether theoperator pulled out the disc in the course of the loading operation orstopped the loading operation are considered. Thus, in Step S106, errorprocessing that ejects the disc D is carried out, which completes thewhole process.

If it is detected in Step S105 that the intermediate position detectingswitch 28 b is turned off, a software timer that measures one and halfseconds is started in Step S107. Meanwhile, there is time of fiveseconds in Step S102 because of the loading operation is a manualloading operation, but there is time of one and half seconds because theloading operation is an automatic loading operation.

Next, in Step S108, the loading motor 30 is driven with its fullelectric power of 100%. The loading motor 30 is rotationally driven withthis strong power, and the rack main body 43 is driven, and the leadingarm 50 continues to be driven accompanying a strong driving force.Thereby, the leading arm 50 pushes in the rear end of the disc D withthe strong driving force.

Next, in Step S109, while reading a value of an one-and-half timer, itis determined whether or not one and half seconds have elapsed from thepoint of time when the timer started, i.e., from the point of time whenthe disc D reached an intermediate position. If one and half secondshave not elapsed in Step S109, it is determined in next Step S110 thatthe loading completion detecting switch 81 is turned on.

When the disc D is pushed in by the leading arm 50 and reaches aclamping position, the circumferential edge of the disc D pushes in thetongue piece 72 b of the stopper 72, which allows the mechanical shiftof the rack main body 43 to the clamping operation. Then, the loadingoperation proceeds, thereby performing the clamping operation of thedisc D without delay, and the front end of the rack main body 43 reachesa position which makes the loading completion detecting switch 81 turnedon. In Step S110, the microcomputer returns to Step S109 and monitorsthe one-and-half timer until the loading completion detecting switch 81is turned on in Step S110. If the rack main body 43 advances while thestopper 72 is not released due to when an operator pulled out the discin the course of the loading operation, and the rack main body 43becomes a state in FIG. 43 that collides with the stopper 72, one andhalf seconds may elapse. Thus, in Step S111, the loading motor 30 isrotated in a reverse direction, and error processing that ejects thedisc D is carried out, which completes the whole process.

In Step S110, if it is determined that the loading completion detectingswitch 81 has been turned on during one and half seconds, the loadingmotor 30 is controlled to be turned off in Step S112, and the loadingoperation is completed in Step S113.

[Ejection Control]

From now on, the function related to the operation of ejection controlwill be described.

A program that provides an ejection control processing function and an“ejection preparation required” determination function that determineswhether the ejection preparation is required or not in a ROM (not shown)is stored in the microcomputer 70.

Further, various commands received from the host system through theATAPI interface are input to the microcomputer 70 via the dataprocessing unit 76.

In the disc apparatus 1 related to the present embodiment, in order toeject the disc D clamped by the clamping head 7, the clamping of thecentral hole Da of the disc D should be released from the state clampedby the clamping head 7.

Specifically, in order not to obstruct the up-and-down movement of thespindle motor 11 in releasing the clamping, the carrier block 13 shouldbe moved to the outermost circumferential position of the disc prior tothe clamping releasing operation.

When the ejecting operation of the disc D is performed, themicrocomputer 70 first detects whether the carrier block 13 is locatedat the outermost circumferential position of the disc using theoutermost circumferential position detecting switch 75.

If it is determined that the carrier block 13 is not located at theoutermost circumferential position of the disc from the results ofdetection by the outermost circumferential position detecting switch 75,the microcomputer 70 controls the thread motor 16 to move the carrierblock 13 to the outermost circumferential position of the disc.

If the microcomputer 70 continues to monitor the detection results ofthe outermost circumferential position detecting switch 75 while thethread motor 16 is controlled to move the carrier block 13 to theoutermost circumferential position of the disc, and then determines thatthe carrier block 13 is located at the outermost circumferentialposition of the disc from the detection results of the outermostcircumferential position detecting switch 75, the microcomputer 70controls the motor driver 71 to drive the loading motor 30.

The disc apparatus 1 is made supposing that it is assembled into awell-known personal computer that is a host system.

The personal computer is powered on or off according to a user'sintention. Accordingly, the disc apparatus 1 cannot grasp a chance thatthe power supply of the personal computer is intercepted.

As can be clear from the above description, if the carrier block 13 isnot located at the outermost circumferential position of the disc whenthe disc apparatus 1 is intercepted from power supply, the carrier block13 obstruct the up-and-down movement of the spindle motor 11, as aresult of that the emergency ejection mechanism cannot be activated.

Thus, in the present invention, in case in which a possibility that thehost system requires the disc apparatus 1 to immediately access becomeslow, or in case in which the host system explicitly requires the discapparatus 1 to be shifted to its standby state is clearly required fromthe host system, the processing that moves the carrier block 13 to theoutermost circumferential position of the disc is carried out.

In other words, in a state in which the central hole Da of the disc D isclamped by the clamping head 7, the disc apparatus 1 is brought into astate in which the disc D is not ejected, but the carrier block 13 islocated at the outermost circumferential position of the disc which caneject the disc D soon.

Hereinafter, the above state is referred to as an ejection preparationstate.

Similarly, a state in which the central hole Da of the disc D is notclamped by the clamping head 7 is referred to as a “disc ejectionstate”. Also, a state in which the central hole Da of the disc D isclamped by the clamping head 7, and the carrier block 13 is not locatedat the outermost circumferential position of the disc which cannot ejectthe disc D immediately is referred to as a disc reproduction state.

In other words, in order to eject the disc D from the disc reproductionstate, the disc apparatus 1 according to the present invention isshifted via the ejection preparation state once to the disc ejectionstate.

FIG. 55 is a flowchart describing a control operation of themicrocomputer 70 related to the present invention, and FIG. 56 is aflowchart describing an operation that checks the state of the discapparatus 1, and that operates in synchronization with the controloperation in FIG. 56.

Hereinafter, the control operation in FIG. 55 will be described.

The control operation starts in Step 200. In Step 201, the disc D isfirst guided into the disc apparatus 1 by the loading mechanism, and itis then verified whether the central hole Da of the disc D is clamped bythe clamping head 7. At the time of the completion of the loadingoperation, in response to the loading completion detecting switch 81being pushed by the rack main body 43, the microcomputer 70 determineswhether the disc D is loaded or not. If the disc D is not loaded, themicrocomputer 70 continues to determine whether the disc D is loaded ornot until the disc D is loaded.

If the disc D is loaded in Step S201, it is determined in Step S202whether a flag “ejection preparation required” is raised or not. Theprocessing that raises the flag “ejection preparation required” will bedescribed later with reference to FIG. 56. If the flag “ejectionpreparation required” is not raised, the microcomputer 70 continues todetermine whether the flag “ejection preparation required” is raised ornot until the flag “ejection preparation required” is raised.

If the flag “ejection preparation required” is raised in Step S202, itis determined via the outermost circumferential position detectingswitch 75 in Step S203 that the carrier block 13 whether or not thecarrier block 13 is located at the outermost circumferential position ofthe disc. If it is determined that the carrier block 13 is not locatedat the outermost circumferential position of the disc, in order to makethe carrier block 13 seek the outermost circumferential position of thedisc in Step S204, the thread motor 16 is driven to rotationally drivethe lead screw 79.

The rotational driving control of the lead screw 79 is continued untilthe outermost circumferential position detecting switch 75 detects thatthe carrier block 13 has reached the outermost circumferential positionof the disc.

If the carrier block 13 is located at the outermost circumferentialposition of the disc in Step S203, it is determined in Step S205 whethera flag “ejection command” is raised or not. If the flag “ejectioncommand” is raised, the ejecting operation is carried out in Step S206,whereas if not, the microcomputer 70 returns to Step S202, and continuesto determine whether or not the flag “ejection command” is raised untilthe flag “ejection command” is raised.

In the flowchart in FIG. 55, if the determination results in Step S202and Step S205 are false “No”, the microcomputer 70 may performprocessing returning to the head in Step S202 in addition to processingreturning to the head in Step S201.

Meanwhile, the flag “ejection preparation required” and the flag“ejection command” are lowered when the ejecting operation of the disc Dis completed.

Further, even in a state in which the disc D is loaded, and the flag“ejection preparation required” is raised, when a reproduction commandis sent to the disc apparatus 1 from the host system, the carrier block13 is moved toward the internal circumference of the disc, and the flag“ejection preparation required” is lowered.

Hereinafter, the determination operation of the “ejection preparationrequired” in FIG. 56 will be described.

When a determination routine is stared in Step S207, it is determined inStep S208 whether or not the ejection button is pushed or the ejectionswitch 4 is turned on. If the ejection switch 4 has been turned on, anejection command flag is raised in Step S210.

If the ejection switch 4 is not turned on in Step S208, it is determinedin Step S209 whether or not an ejection command is sent from the hostsystem. If the ejection command has been sent, the ejection command flagis raised in Step S210.

If an ejection command is not sent from the host system in Step S209, itis determined in Step S211 that the time-out has been reached.

The microcomputer 70 operates a software timer (not shown) having aprogram, receives commands sent from the host system via the dataprocessing unit 76, and clears the software timer to set the timer'svalue to zero whenever the commands are sent.

The software timer measures predetermined time, for example, eightminutes. If eight minutes has elapsed, it is shifted to a time-outstate.

In Step S211, if it is determined that eight minutes has elapsed fromthe point of time when a command has been finally sent from the hostsystem, it is determined in Step S213 whether or not a sleep command issent from the host system, that is, whether or not the shift to astandby state is commanded.

If it is determined in Step S213 that a sleep command is not sent fromthe host system, it is determined in Step S214 whether or not a shutdowncommand is sent from the host system.

If it is determined in Step S213 that the sleep command is sent from thehost system, the shift to Step S212, which will be described later, iscarried out.

If shutdown is caused in the host system, since the power supply to thedisc apparatus 1 is intercepted after a while from that time, shiftingto the ejection preparation state is required.

If it is determined in Step S214 that a shutdown command is sent fromthe host system, it is determined in Step S215 whether a commandindicating whether or not the power source of the host system isswitched from an external power source to a built-in power source, thatis, from an AC power source to a DC power source is sent.

If the host system is, for example, a notebook computer, and a powersupply means is switched from an AC adapter to a DC battery, it isconsidered that there is a possibility that an emergency situation casedby, for example, interruption of power supply occurred.

Similarly, even when an interruptible power supper (UPS) forinterruption of power supply is connected to a desktop PC or a server,it is necessary to receive a control signal issued from the UPS at thetime of interruption of power supply, and perform the same measures.

Meanwhile, the commands in Step S214 and S215 are commands that do notexist in specification of Standard ATAPI, and that are commonly referredto as “commands unique to vendor”.

In the disc apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a flashmemory, a jumper switch and the like in the microcomputer 70, which arenot shown, are manipulated according to delivery destinations after thecompletion of manufacture and immediately before shipping of products,so that the commands in Step S214 and S215 can be validated orinvalidated.

If it is determined in Step S214 that a shutdown command has been sentfrom the host system, shifting to Step S212, which will be describedlater, is carried out.

If the determination results in Step S211, S213, S214 and S215 are true(Y), after the processing in Step S210, the flag “ejection preparationrequired” is raised in Step S212.

If the determination results are false (N) even after a subroutine thatis started from Step S208 and passes through Step S213, Step 214 or Step215 has been carried out, the subroutine is completed in Step S216without raising the above-mentioned flag “ejection command” and flag“ejection preparation required”.

The subroutine that is started from Step 207 and is completed in StepS216 is repeatedly executed in short cycles.

As described above, the disc apparatus 1 related to the presentinvention operates as follows:

-   -   (a) When the intermediate position detecting switch 28 b detects        that the disc D has reached the intermediate position after the        insertion of the disc D, the leading arm 50 pulls in the disc D        to the clamping position with a strong force.    -   (b) When the disc D has reached the clamping position, the        circumferential edge of the disc D pushes in the stopper 72, and        the shift of the rack main body 43 to the clamping operation is        mechanically allowed.    -   (c) When the loading completion detecting switch 81 detects that        the loading operation of the disc D has been normally completed,        the loading motor 30 stops.    -   (d) In the above operation, if the loading completion detecting        switch 81 cannot detect the completion of the loading operation        even when one and half seconds have elapsed after the        intermediate position detecting switch 28 b detected that the        disc D had reached intermediate position, it is considered that        the clamping operation fails due to a factor or the like that        the shift of the rack main body 43 to the clamping operation is        not allowed due to the action of the stopper 72. Then, the        loading motor 30 is reversely rotated to perform the ejecting        operation of the disc D.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 57 is a plan view of an internal structure of a disc apparatus 1′related to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 58 isa partially enlarged view of the disc apparatus 1′ as seen from the rearside thereof.

FIG. 57 is almost the same as FIG. 2. However, instead of the stopper72, the leaf spring 83, etc. of the disc apparatus 1, aphoto-interrupter 86 is provided inside the disc apparatus 1′.

The photo-interrupter 86 is a known reflective optical sensor comprisinga set of a photodiode and a phototransistor, and is provided at aposition that is covered by an outer peripheral portion of the disc D ata position where the disc D can be clamped.

When the disc D gets closer to its clamping position, the light of thephotodiode is reflected by a recording surface of the circumferentialportion of the disc D, the reflected light is radiated onto thephototransistor to turn on the phototransistor, so that the existence ofthe disc D can be detected.

Meanwhile, an antireflection film (not shown) for preventing erroneousdetection caused by a reflected light from the case 2 when the disc D isnot inserted is adhered to a portion of the rear face of the discapparatus 1′ which faces the photo-interrupter 86.

The antireflection film is subjected to surface treatment in a color,which does not reflect most of light from the photodiode, such as blackor green subjected to delustering.

FIG. 58 is almost the same as FIG. 44. However, as a switch fordetecting the position of the rack main body 43, a clamping positiondetecting switch 87 serving as a pull-in completion detecting means isprovided between the ejection completion detecting switch 80 and theloading completion detecting switch 81.

The clamping position detecting switch 87 is provided to be turned onwhen the leading arm 50 begins to reach a position which can clamp thedisc D by means of the movement operation of the rack main body 43. Inthe process of the normal clamping operation, the clamping positiondetecting switch 87 is provided at a position where it is turned onafter the turned-on operation of the photo-interrupter 86.

Specifically, when the clamping position detecting switch 87 has beenturned on, if the photo-interrupter 86 is in its turned-on state, it canbe determined that the disc D has reached a normally clamping position.On the contrary, if the photo-interrupter 86 is in its turned-off state,it can be determined that the disc D has not reached the normallyclamping position.

The photo-interrupter 86 and the clamping position detecting switch 87are also connected to the microcomputer 70, similarly to the firstembodiment, the microcomputer 70 executes control over the loadingoperation and the ejecting operation.

FIG. 59 shows logical states of the drive starting position detectingswitch 28 a and the intermediate position detecting switch 28 b, whichare built in the angular position detecting switch 28, the ejectioncompletion detecting switch 80, the loading completion detecting switch81, the photo-interrupter 86, and the clamping position detecting switch87, when the disc D is inserted into the disc apparatus 1′ to perform aloading operation.

FIG. 59 is almost the same as FIG. 53. However, logical states of thephoto-interrupter 86 and the clamping position detecting switch 87 areadded.

In FIG. 59, the operation in the second embodiment is the same as thatin the first embodiment until the loading motor 30 begins to rotate witha strong electric power at the point of time t4, and the disc D iddriven in its loaded direction.

When the disc D gets closer to a position where it can be clamped, at apoint of time t7, the photo-interrupter 86 detects the disc D to beturned on.

After a while, at a point of time t5, the clamping position detectingswitch 87 is turned on by the movement of the rack main body 43.

If the photo-interrupter 86 is in its turned-on state when the clampingposition detecting switch 87 is turned on, the microcomputer 70determines that the disc D has reached the normally clamping position,and continues the control over the rotation of the loading motor 30.

On the contrary, if the photo-interrupter 86 is in its turned-off statewhen the clamping position detecting switch 87 is turned on, themicrocomputer 70 determines that the disc D has not reached the normallyclamping position, and immediately performs control for reversing thedirection that loading motor 30 rotates.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, andvarious modifications can be exemplified as follows.

-   -   (1) The ejecting operation at the time of error detection in        Step 106 and S111 is directed to returning of the lever arm 44        shown in FIGS. 37 and 38. If a disc is inserted again while this        ejecting operation is not completed, this is not preferable        because there is a possibility that a recording surface of the        disc may be damaged, or fatal breakage of mechanical parts of        the disc apparatus 1 may be followed. Thus, during the period of        the ejecting operation when an error is detected, a construction        in which the microcomputer 70 controls the indicator 5 provided        in the bezel 3 to be turned on or off can be employed.    -   (2) The position of the stopper 72 is also not limited to that        in the above embodiments, and can be changed to a position that        can detect the circumference of the disc D inside the disc        apparatus 1 from the center of the disc D when the disc D is        located at its clamping position. Briefly, only for the time        when the disc D is located at its clamping position, a        construction which allows the rack main body 43 to be shifted to        the clamping operation may be employed.    -   (3) Similarly, the photo-interrupter 86 can be appropriately        modified, not limited to the above embodiments, as long as it        can be located at a position that can detect the existence of        the disc D inside the disc apparatus 1 from the center of the        disc D when the disc D has reached its clamping position.

1. A disc apparatus comprising: a loading mechanism for performing a pulling operation for pulling a disc to a clamping position where a clamping operation for placing the disc on a turntable is performed after the pulling operation; and an actuating means driven by an outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position; and a prohibiting means for prohibiting the clamping operation when the disc is not located at the clamping position, and for permitting the clamping operation in response to the activating means being driven when the disc is located at the clamping position.
 2. The disc apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the actuating means is provided at a position inside the center of the disc when the disc is located at the clamping position toward the direction of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 3. The disc apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the prohibiting means is a stopper, and the actuating means is a disc abutment member provided in the stopper, and the stopper releases the loading mechanism from prohibiting the clamping operation in response to the disc abutment member being driven while abutting on the outer circumferential portion of the disc.
 4. The disc apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, at the time of the clamping operation after the pulling operation, the disc abutment member has a disc positioning function to position the disc.
 5. The disc apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the actuating means is a disc outer circumferential portion detector, wherein the prohibiting means has the disc outer circumferential portion detector, and a pulling completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism, and wherein the clamping operation of the loading mechanism is permitted when the pulling completion detecting means detects a completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism, and the disc outer circumferential portion detector detects the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position.
 6. The disc apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the disc outer circumferential portion detector is a reflective photo-interrupter, and an antireflection film for preventing erroneous detection when the disc is not located at the clamping position is provided at a position of a rear face of a case for the disc apparatus that faces the reflective photo-interrupter.
 7. The disc apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 8. The disc apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 9. The disc apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc outer circumferential portion detector is not able to detect the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position when the pulling completion detecting means detects that the completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 10. The disc apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the prohibiting means is a stopper, and the actuating means is a disc abutment member provided in the stopper, and the stopper releases the loading mechanism from prohibiting the clamping operation in response to the disc abutment member being driven while abutting on the outer circumferential portion of the disc.
 11. The disc apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, at the time of the clamping operation after the pulling operation, the disc abutment member has a disc positioning function to position the disc.
 12. The disc apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the actuating means is a disc outer circumferential portion detector, wherein the prohibiting means has the disc outer circumferential portion detector, and a pulling completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism, and wherein the clamping operation of the loading mechanism is permitted when the pulling completion detecting means detects a completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism, and the disc outer circumferential portion detector detects the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position.
 13. The disc apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the disc outer circumferential portion detector is a reflective photo-interrupter, and an antireflection film for preventing erroneous detection when the disc is not located at the clamping position is provided at a position of a rear face of a case for the disc apparatus that faces the reflective photo-interrupter.
 14. The disc apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism; a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 15. The disc apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism; a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 16. The disc apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism; a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 17. The disc apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism; a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 18. The disc apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc being not carried to the clamping position after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism; a clamping completion detecting means provided in the loading mechanism for detecting a completion of the clamping operation by the loading mechanism, wherein the control means controls the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the completion of the clamping operation is not detected by the clamping completion detecting means after a lapse of predetermined time from the beginning of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 19. The disc apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc outer circumferential portion detector is not able to detect the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position when the pulling completion detecting means detects that the completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 20. The disc apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc outer circumferential portion detector is not able to detect the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position when the pulling completion detecting means detects that the completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism.
 21. The disc apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a control means for controlling the loading mechanism to eject the disc when the disc outer circumferential portion detector is not able to detect the outer circumferential portion of the disc pulled to the clamping position when the pulling completion detecting means detects that the completion of the pulling operation by the loading mechanism. 